Response to the Resistance Board rules officers acted within guidelines

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Two Jacksonville sheriff’s officers acted within departmental guidelines when they shot and killed a man brandishing an assault rifle last August, The Response to the Resistance Board ruled.

Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams agreed with the board’s findings, saying no further action was needed.

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On August 23, Richard Compo, 36, died at his mobile home on Old Plank Road after firing shots from inside the home at officers and then twice pointing a gun at officers from the porch, police said. Two Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office K-9 officers fired shots at Compo with their department-issued rifles, hitting him once in the chest, JSO said.

The Sheriff’s Office said police were called to the home near West Beaver Street after Compo battered his wife and she was able to escape to a nearby church and call 911.

Police went to the home to arrest Compo, but he refused to be taken into custody, forcing a SWAT situation.

The Sheriff’s Office said police, including K-9 officers, surrounded the home and attempted to get Compo to surrender, but he refused to cooperate.

A K-9 officer positioned behind the home then reported at least seven shots were fired from inside the home in his direction.

Compo then came out onto the front porch of the trailer, armed with a long rifle in his left hand. He had a phone in his right hand, and police later learned that he was speaking with his mother and that he told her he was "going to go out in Waco style," indicating he would not be surrendering to police.

He raised his rifle in the direction of a K-9 officer, who fired a single shot and missed. Compo yelled, “You missed me,” lowered his rifle, and then raised it again at the same officer.

K-9 officers Rob Adams and Charlie Wilkie each fired a single shot, and Compo was hit once in the chest and killed him, according to JSO. It's unclear which officer fired the fatal shot.